


In The Office

by Minuete



Series: His and Her Angst [21]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Companion Piece, Episode: s06e12 One Son, Episode: s06e13 Agua Mala, In-between episodes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 12:19:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15885918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minuete/pseuds/Minuete
Summary: Mulder holding down the fort after the events of El Rico Airforce Base. A companion piece to “Law of Entropy”.





	In The Office

Mulder looked up, across the expanse of the office desk towards where Scully would sit, her box of personal belongs still intact wondering when she will be in the office. It had been like this for the past few weeks; Kersh returned the X-Files division to them, and it seemed like he was the only one overjoyed by the reassignment. Until he found Jeffrey Spender’s wounded body at the basement office door right next to a cigarette butt. He left a dozen messages on Scully’s cell and home phones to update her on Jeffrey Spender’s status and Diana’s transfer to Domestic Terrorism.

When he couldn’t take Scully’s absence anymore, he swung by her apartment to confront her in person. He decided to tell her about his past relationship with Diana. He saw her walls start to form as she stared at her cup of tea he prepared in her kitchen. He continued to ramble, trying to fill the dead silence with his reasoning. It was the wrong move since she abruptly wanted to leave the dining area. He saw her vulnerability masked by the icy glare she gave him when he tried to approach her. In a span of a half hour, Scully had emotionally and physically shut him down.

  
It must have been his perverse subconscious wanting to test Scully’s loyalty when he notified her about Arthur Dales’ distress call in Florida. Less than a week after the revelation she received about his shared past with Diana. During her birthday weekend no less. After the case, he couldn’t see past Dales’ gleaming praise over Scully, and realized it for what it was: jealousy. He wanted Dales to recognize and praise _him_ for the X-Files division not his partner-in-crime. Fuck. He was an asshole.

  
Mulder pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the familiar cadence of clicking heels approaching the office. He quickly went back to combing through the files he compiled on the desk that were salvaged from the fire when Scully entered the room.

  
“Hey, Scully,” he greeted a little too exuberantly as he looked up. Damn. She was a sight as he took in her attire. She wore that skirt outfit that landed just above her knee, the same one when she searched for him at his local YMCA, paired with 3-inch high heels. Her trench coat remained on her as well as her laptop bag in hand.

  
“Hello,” she greeted politely as she walked purposefully towards the inbox/outbox and started to sort. She perched her laptop on the edge of the desk and pulled out some reports.  
“I ran into Skinner on my way down. There’s some files here he wants you to follow-up on. I’m almost finished drafting the report of the El Rico massacre. Feel free to add to it for your side of the story.”

She sifted through the mail that accumulated the past week, pulling out the medical and science magazines and setting them aside. Mulder tried to gain eye contact from her, but she kept her eyes focused on her task at hand. Once she finished sorting and placing the magazines in her bag, she promptly started to exit the office to his surprise.

  
“Wait, Scully!” he said in a raised voice much too loud in the office to get her attention. It did. He lowered his voice to its usual volume and continued tentatively, “Where are you going? You just got here. Why don’t you stay a little longer to unpack? You haven’t had the chance to settle in yet.”

  
She gave him a confused look after giving a cursory survey of the office. “I have a meeting with the head pathologist to look over lab results, and I hardly think my government-issued pencil cup, post-its, and legal pads are missed. You took your time putting everything in order while I’m away.”

  
“Yes, but Scully you’re the other half of this division. You’re the one who help validate the existence of the X-Files,” Mulder said his piece. He noticed her demeanor stiffen at his remark as she turned towards the door.

  
“The box will be cleared out by the end of this week, “ Scully answered in a resigned tone before she headed out.

  
When Monday rolled around, Mulder noticed that Scully’s box was gone, but her work space remained untouched. Evidence of her emptying her box were a couple extra pens, pencils, and a fused dime and penny she showed him earlier this year placed in the stationary drawer under the office desk. Scully was right: her belongings were swallowed up by his overwhelming presence in the office. “The other half of the division” barely made a carbon footprint in the room. She left a post-it on the computer monitor: “In Quantico this week.” Mulder clenched and unclenched his jaw as he carefully removed the post-it and placed it on the edge of the monitor. He sank down in the chair feeling stranded and utterly alone.


End file.
